Transmission of wireless signal having information on a local oscillator signal

ABSTRACT

A semiconductor package having an antenna; and a semiconductor die which is coupled to the antenna and comprises a transmitter configured to transmit wirelessly via the antenna a wireless signal having information on a local oscillator signal to a further semiconductor package comprising a further semiconductor die.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments relate to wireless chip-to-chip communication and inparticular to a wireless communication system, a radar system and amethod for determining a position information of an object.

BACKGROUND

In many circuit systems, signals have to be transmitted from one deviceto another. Such signals may be transmitted through wired connections orwirelessly. Especially high frequency signals are difficult to transmitthrough wired connections due to high losses and strong restrictionsregarding connection length and routing. It may be desired to provide achip-to-chip communication with low effort and/or high flexibility.

SUMMARY

Some embodiments relate to a wireless communication system comprising afirst semiconductor module and a second semiconductor module. The firstsemiconductor module comprises a semiconductor die connected to anantenna structure. The semiconductor die of the first semiconductormodule and the antenna structure of the first semiconductor module arearranged within a common package. The semiconductor die of the firstsemiconductor module comprises a transmitter module configured totransmit the wireless communication signal through the antenna structureof the first semiconductor module. The second semiconductor modulecomprises a semiconductor die connected to an antenna structure. Thesemiconductor die of the second semiconductor module comprises areceiver module configured to receive the wireless communication signalthrough the antenna structure of the second semiconductor module fromthe first semiconductor module.

Some embodiments relate to a radar system with a proposed wirelesscommunication system.

Some embodiments relate to a method for determining a positioninformation of an object. The method comprises transmitting a radarsignal to at least one object by a transmitter device and receiving areflected radar signal caused by a reflection of the radar signal at theleast one object by a receiver device. Further, the method compriseswirelessly-transmitting a wireless communication signal containinginformation on a phase of a local oscillator signal used for generatingthe radar signal by the transmitter device and receiving the wirelesscommunication signal by the receiver device. Additionally, the methodcomprises determining a position information of the at least one objectbased on the received reflected radar signal and the information on thephase of the local oscillator signal contained by the received wirelesscommunication signal.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Some embodiments of apparatuses and/or methods will be described in thefollowing by way of example only, and with reference to the accompanyingfigures, in which

FIG. 1a shows a schematic top view of a wireless communication system;

FIG. 1b shows a schematic cross-section through the semiconductormodules of the wireless communication system;

FIG. 2 shows a schematic cross-section of a semiconductor module;

FIG. 3 shows a schematic top view of another semiconductor module;

FIG. 4 shows a schematic top view of the semiconductor modules of awireless communication system;

FIG. 5 shows a schematic illustration of a radar system; and

FIG. 6 shows a flowchart of a method for determining a positioninformation of an object.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various example embodiments will now be described more fully withreference to the accompanying drawings in which some example embodimentsare illustrated. In the figures, the thicknesses of lines, layers and/orregions may be exaggerated for clarity.

Accordingly, while example embodiments are capable of variousmodifications and alternative forms, embodiments thereof are shown byway of example in the figures and will herein be described in detail. Itshould be understood, however, that there is no intent to limit exampleembodiments to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary,example embodiments are to cover all modifications, equivalents, andalternatives falling within the scope of the disclosure. Like numbersrefer to like or similar elements throughout the description of thefigures.

It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being“connected” or “coupled” to another element, it can be directlyconnected or coupled to the other element or intervening elements may bepresent. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directlyconnected” or “directly coupled” to another element, there are nointervening elements present. Other words used to describe therelationship between elements should be interpreted in a like fashion(e.g., “between” versus “directly between,” “adjacent” versus “directlyadjacent,” etc.).

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of exampleembodiments. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” areintended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearlyindicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms“comprises,” “comprising,” “includes” and/or “including,” when usedherein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, acts,operations, elements and/or components, but do not preclude the presenceor addition of one or more other features, integers, acts, operations,elements, components and/or groups thereof.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientificterms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by oneof ordinary skill in the art to which example embodiments belong. Itwill be further understood that terms, e.g., those defined in commonlyused dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that isconsistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art andwill not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unlessexpressly so defined herein.

FIGS. 1a and 1b show a schematic illustration of a wirelesscommunication system 100 according to an example. The wirelesscommunication system comprises a first semiconductor module 110 and asecond semiconductor module 120. The first semiconductor module 110comprises a semiconductor die 112 connected to an antenna structure 114.The semiconductor die 112 of the first semiconductor module 110 and theantenna structure 114 of the first semiconductor module 110 are arrangedwithin a common package 116. The semiconductor die 112 of the firstsemiconductor module 110 comprises a transmitter module (transmittercircuit) configured to transmit a wireless communication signal 102through the antenna structure 114 of the first semiconductor module 110.Further, the second semiconductor module 120 comprises a semiconductordie 122 connected to an antenna structure 124. The semiconductor die 122of the second semiconductor module 120 comprises a receiver module(receiver circuit) configured to receive the wireless communicationsignal through the antenna structure 124 of the second semiconductormodule 120 from the first semiconductor module 110.

By implementing a wireless chip-to-chip communication, a very flexiblesignal transmission between different modules may be implemented.Further, by integrating the antenna structure into a common package withthe semiconductor die comprising the transmitter structure at least thetransmitter for the wireless signal transmission may be implemented withlow hardware effort and/or low space consumption.

The two semiconductor modules may be arranged independent from eachother on a common circuit board (e.g. printed circuit board PCB) or maybe arranged on different circuit boards due to the flexibility of thewireless connection.

The first semiconductor module 110 may comprise more than onesemiconductor die within the common package 116 comprising circuitrywith different functionality, for example. Further, the semiconductordie 112 of the first semiconductor module 110 may comprise optionaladditional circuitry modules in addition to the transmitter module.

The semiconductor die 112 and the antenna structure 114 are arrangedwithin a common package. The common package may be implemented invarious ways. For example, the antenna structure of the firstsemiconductor module 110 may be embedded within the molding material ofthe common package 116 used for encapsulating the semiconductor die 112of the first semiconductor module 110. In other words, the antennastructure 114 may be surrounded by molding material of the commonpackage 116. For example, the antenna structure 114 may be electricallyconnected only to one or more semiconductor dies within the commonpackage 116 of the first semiconductor module 110 without an (direct)electrical connection to an element outside the common package 116.

For example, the common package 116 of the first semiconductor module110 may be a wafer level package. Optionally, the antenna structure 114of the first semiconductor module 110 may be implemented within at leastone redistribution layer (e.g. metal layer within a passivationstructure of the semiconductor die) of the wafer level package.

The semiconductor die 122 of the second semiconductor module 120 and theantenna structure 124 of the second semiconductor module 120 may be alsoarranged within a common package as indicated in FIGS. 1a and 1b . Inthis way, also the hardware effort and/or the space consumption of thesecond semiconductor module 120 may be kept low. Alternatively, theantenna structure 124 of the second semiconductor module 120 may bearranged or connected to a circuit board connectable or connected to thesecond semiconductor module 120.

A wireless communication system may be a system comprising at least onewireless transmitter and one wireless receiver in communication witheach other. However, the wireless communication system may comprise moreoptional transmitting and/or receiving components. Each transmittingand/or receiving component may also be implemented as a transceiverdevice for a bidirectional communication, for example.

Similarly to the first semiconductor module 110, the secondsemiconductor module 120 may comprise one or more semiconductor die(s)implementing different functionalities, for example.

The semiconductor die 112 of the first semiconductor module 110 and/orthe semiconductor die 122 of the second semiconductor module 120 may beimplemented by any semiconductor processing technology capable offorming the mentioned semiconductor devices, for example. In otherwords, the first semiconductor die 112 of the first semiconductor module110 and/or the second semiconductor die 122 of the second semiconductormodule 120 may comprise a silicon-based semiconductor substrate, asilicon carbide-based semiconductor substrate, a gallium arsenide-basedsemiconductor substrate or a gallium nitride-based semiconductorsubstrate, for example.

The antenna structure 114 of the first semiconductor module 110 and/orthe antenna structure 124 of the second semiconductor module 120 maycomprise a geometry and/or element suitable for transmitting signalswith a desired transmit frequency (transmit frequency of the wirelesscommunication signal).

A maximal dimension of the antenna structure of the first semiconductormodule 110 and/or the antenna structure 124 of the second semiconductormodule 120 may depend on the frequency of the wireless communicationsignal 102 to be transmitted through the antenna structures or to bereceived through the antenna structures. For high frequency signals,signals may be already transmitted with very small antennas. Forexample, the antenna structure 114 of the first semiconductor module 110and/or the antenna structure 124 of the second semiconductor module 120may comprise a maximal dimension (e.g. largest extension in onedirection) smaller than 1 cm (or smaller than 5 mm or smaller than 3 mm,for example, about 2 mm for frequencies above 70 GHz).

Optionally, the antenna structure 114 of the first semiconductor module110 and/or the antenna structure 124 of the second semiconductor module120 may comprise a maximal dimension larger than a maximal dimension(extension in one direction) of the semiconductor die 112 of the firstsemiconductor module 110 and/or the semiconductor die 122 of the secondsemiconductor module 120. In other words, the common package 116 of thefirst semiconductor module 110 may be significantly larger than thesemiconductor die 112 of the first semiconductor module 110, since theantenna structure 114 of the first semiconductor module 110 may requirea larger area than the semiconductor die 112 of the first semiconductormodule 110 (e.g. by using a fan out package technology).

The wireless communication signal may contain arbitrary information tobe transmitted from the first semiconductor module 110 to the secondsemiconductor module 120. For example, the wireless communication signalmay contain information or data to be transmitted to the secondsemiconductor module 120 only by the amplitude of the wirelesscommunication signal 102 (e.g. load modulation), only by the phase ofthe wireless communication signal 102 (e.g. phase modulation) or by theamplitude and the phase of the wireless communication signal (e.g.quadrature amplitude modulation). For example, the wirelesscommunication signal may contain information on a phase of a localoscillator signal of the first semiconductor module 110 or arbitrarydata may be transmitted by modulating amplitude and phase of thewireless communication signal 102.

The second semiconductor module 120 may use information contained by thereceived wireless communication signal 102 for providing a desiredfunctionality of the wireless communication system (e.g. determining aposition information of an object or providing information contained bythe wireless communication system for further processing).

The first semiconductor module 110 and the second semiconductor module120 may be arrangeable with an arbitrary distance and in an arbitrarydirection to each other due to the wireless communication. For example,the first semiconductor module 110 and the second semiconductor module120 may be arranged with a distance of more than 10 cm (or more than 5cm, more than 20 cm, more than 50 cm, more than 1 m or more than 2 m).Further, the first semiconductor module 110 and the second semiconductormodule 120 may be arranged with a distance of less than 5 m (or lessthan 10 m, less than 2 m or less than 1 m) so that a direct wirelesssignal path between the first semiconductor module 110 and the secondsemiconductor module 120 may be achievable, for example. In other words,the first semiconductor module 110 and the second semiconductor module120 may be obtained so that the wireless communication signal 102 mayreach the second semiconductor module 120 through a direct wirelesssignal path (e.g. however, further signal portions with longer signalpath to due reflections or scattering may be possible).

The distance between the first semiconductor module 110 and the secondsemiconductor module 120 may be constant during the transmission of thewireless communication signal (e.g. implementing a receiver and atransmitter of a radar system of a vehicle). In other words, thewireless communication system 100 may be a wireless chip-to-chipcommunication system with semiconductor modules (chips) comprising aconstant distance to each other.

Optionally, additionally or alternatively to one or more aspectsmentioned above, the first semiconductor module 110 and the secondsemiconductor module 120 may exchange signals solely wireless. In otherwords, a wired connection for transmitting signals between thesemiconductor modules of the wireless communication system may beunnecessary due to the wireless communication. Alternatively, anadditional wired connection may be implemented between the firstsemiconductor module 110 and the second semiconductor module 120 (e.g.for transmitting low frequency signals, while high frequency signals aretransmitted through the wireless interface).

The wireless interface of the wireless communication system 100 may beused for signals with very high frequencies, since small antennas may besufficient for such signals and/or a wired transmission of such signalsmay require large hardware efforts and may be restricted in many ways.For example, the transmitter module of the semiconductor die 112 of thefirst semiconductor module 110 may transmit the wireless communicationsignal with a frequency higher than 10 GHz (or higher than 20 GHz,higher than 50 GHz or higher than 70 GHz).

The first semiconductor module 110 may transmit the wirelesscommunication signal 102 to more than one other semiconductor modulecomprising a receiver module. In other words, the wireless communicationsystem 100 may comprise a third semiconductor module comprising asemiconductor die connected to an antenna structure and thesemiconductor die of the third semiconductor module comprises a receivermodule configured to receive the wireless communication signal 102through the antenna structure of the third semiconductor module from thefirst semiconductor module 110.

Different receiving modules may be arranged with different distances tothe first semiconductor module 110. In other words, the secondsemiconductor module 120 and the third semiconductor module may bearranged with different distances to the first semiconductor module 110.The difference of the distances to the first semiconductor module 110may be larger than 1 cm, or larger than 10 cm, larger than 50 cm orlarger than 1 m).

The geometry of the antenna structure may enable the implementation of amain transmit direction. For the chip-to-chip communication, a maintransmit direction may be implemented in parallel to the packages of thesemiconductor modules, if the semiconductor modules are arranged mainlylaterally distributed to each other. Alternatively, the main transmitand/or receive direction may be implemented orthogonally to thesemiconductor modules, if the semiconductor modules are arranged mainlyabove each other, for example. In other words, the antenna structure ofthe first semiconductor module 110 may provide the wirelesscommunication signal 102 in a direction in parallel to a main surface(e.g. the surface with the majority of circuitry) of the semiconductordie 112 of the first semiconductor module 110 with a signal strengthlarger than a signal strength of the wireless communication signal 102in a direction orthogonal to the main surface of the semiconductor dieof the first semiconductor module 110 or vice-versa.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic cross-section of an integrated circuit 200(semiconductor module) with integrated antenna 220 and a correspondingtop view as shown in FIG. 3. The semiconductor die 210 (e.g. silicon Sichip in package) and the antenna 220 are arranged in a common package230. The antenna 220 is implemented within the redistribution layer 240of the package. The semiconductor module 200 is mounted to a printedcircuit board 260 through solder balls 250. In other words, FIG. 4 showsa schematic cross-section of a circuitry 200 with an antenna 220integrated into the package 230 for a chip-to-chip communication andFIG. 3 shows a top view of the circuitry 200 and the antenna 220integrated into the package 230 with a radiation characteristic of theantenna 220 in parallel to the package 230 or the printed circuit boardPCB surface (e.g. Vivaldi antenna).

FIG. 4 shows a combination of two chips (two semiconductor modules of awireless communication system 400), which communicate with each otherthrough the integrated antennas 220, on a carrier board 260. The chipsmay also be arranged on different carrier boards. The semiconductormodules represent circuits with antennas 220 integrated into the package230, which radiate or receive in parallel to the package 230. In thisway, a wireless signal transmission 410 can be enabled. In other words,FIG. 4 shows a wireless signal transmission 410 by means of antennas 220integrated into the package, which radiates or receives in parallel tothe package surface, for example.

Some embodiments relate to a chip-to-chip communication by means ofantennas integrated in packages. In this way, signals can be transmittedbetween electronic devices. For example, at radio systems, whichcomprise a transmitter device and a receiver device, the frequencysignal, which is generated by the transmitter and radiated, may also bedirected to the receiver so that it can be used as reference signal(local oscillator LO signal) for a comparison with the signal receivedby the receiver. The signal transmitted by the transmitter may bereflected at objects to be detected and may be again received by thereceiver (e.g. for radar applications). In this process, the signalexperiences a frequency shift). A comparison of this frequency with thelocal oscillator LO frequency may allow a conclusion to information onthe observed object as position and/or relative speed to thetransmitter. Distant radar systems in the automotive area may beimplemented on this principle (e.g. see FIG. 5).

For a system which comprises more than one transmit and/or receivedevice, all components may be synchronized with a signal. For example,this may be important for future radar systems which comprise severalsimple devices for implementing a complex system. For example, a threechannel transmitter may be used for a signal to radiate a radar signalat an antenna and the two other signals may be used as local oscillatorLO signals for one of two receiver devices respectively. The morereceiver channels are available in a system, the better important systemcharacteristic numbers or coefficients as the angle resolution may beobtained. The system performance may be increased by implementingdifferent receive antennas further away from each other, since the angleresolution may be proportional to the distance of the receive antennas.With the proposed system, the distance between the antennas may avoidlimitation to the dimension of the carrier boards, on which the antennasand the receive devices are arranged, for example.

Further, a signal transmission between receivers, which are not arrangedor mounted to a common carrier board, may be enabled. In this way,sensors may be combined to a complete system which may be able to detecta larger region of objects by sensors. In this way, a radar system mayreplace an ultrasonic sensor as distance warning or parking assistancein the automotive area. The sensors may be implemented in the bumper andmay comprise a distance of several ten centimeters up to some meters,for example.

Some embodiments relate to a radar system comprising a wirelesscommunication system according to the described concept or one or moreembodiments described above. A schematic illustration of the function ofa distance radar 500 is shown in FIG. 5. A transmitter may generate atransmit signal with a frequency f_(s) and radiates the signal throughan antenna. The signal reflected at objects may experience a frequencyshift and is received by the receiver. A part of the transmit signal maybe transmitted from the transmitter to the receiver as local oscillatorLO signal (wireless communication signal) and may be used as comparisonfrequency for the receive signal.

In other words, the first semiconductor device may comprise anoscillator on the semiconductor die (e.g. with a frequency of 76 to 77GHz) and transmits a radar signal to objects in the proximity of theradar system. Further, the first semiconductor module transmits thelocal oscillator signal or a signal containing information on the phaseof the local oscillator signal for a separate antenna structure or thesame antenna structure as for transmitting the radar signal to a secondsemiconductor module with a receiver module comprising a mixer. Thesecond semiconductor module receives the reflected radar signal and thewireless communication signal comprising information on the localoscillator signal through the same or different antenna structures.Further, the mixer mixes the wireless communication signal or a signalderived from the wireless communication signal rebuilding the localoscillator signal with the received reflected radar signalf_(R)=f_(S)±Δf to obtain information on frequency differences±Δf.Further, the radar system may comprise a microcomputer (μ-computer)determining a position information based on the determined frequencyoffset and may trigger a warning or may operate a brake or the gas of acar, for example.

In more general words, the first semiconductor module may comprise aradar transmit module (same or separate to the transmitter module fortransmitting the wireless communication signal), configured to transmita radar signal to at least one object in the proximity of the radarsystem. Further, the second semiconductor module may comprise a radarreceiver module (e.g. same or additional to the receiver module forreceiving the wireless communication signal) configured to receive thereflected radar signal caused by a reflection of the radar signal at theat least one object.

Further, the wireless communication signal may contain information on aphase of a local oscillator signal used for generating the radar signalby the first semiconductor module. The radar system may determine aposition of the at least one object based on the received reflectedradar signal and the information on a phase of a local oscillator signalcontained by the received wireless communication signal. The positioninformation may be determined by a circuitry located on thesemiconductor die of the first semiconductor module or a circuitrylocated on the semiconductor die of the second semiconductor module ormay be implemented by a processing module (e.g. microcomputer)implemented by another module, for example.

Using a proposed signal, signal power losses caused by wiredchip-to-chip connections may be avoided. For example, for high frequencyapplications (e.g. 60 GHz WLAN wireless local area network or 76 to 81GHz radar applications in the automotive area), the signal power losses,which occur at the (wired) transmission path, may be so large that theymay lead to a significant influence to the system properties. Forexample, transmission losses of about 2-3 dB in the frequency rangelarger than 60 GHz may occur at chip connections of carrier boards as abond wire or a solder connection with a solder ball. The damping of aline on a PCB may be 1 dB per cm for expansive high frequency HFsuitable substrates. Such high losses may be avoided due to the wirelesscommunication. Further, larger distances between different devices maybe enabled (which are limited for wired connections). Further, systemswith several receivers may be possible, since problems due to crossingwires at the top layer of the PCB may be avoided. Due to the wirelesscommunication, the geometric arrangement of the receivers may beselected arbitrarily. Further, the distance between the receivers may beselected arbitrarily.

Further, several receivers can be supplied with the same wirelesscommunication signal simultaneously. Additionally, a high frequencysignal transmission between devices on different carrier boards withdistances of more than 10 cm (e.g. for distributed sensors in theautomotive area) in the frequency range larger than 10 GHz may beenabled.

In other words, the restrictions of the wired transmission of highfrequency signals may be avoided by implementing an antenna forradiating and/or receiving signals to be transmitted in a package andtransmitting the signal through these antennas from one chip to another.

In this way, an electrically conductive connection between differentcomponents of the systems can be avoided, the components must not bemounted to the same carrier board and/or receivers may be arranged atarbitrary positions, since crossing wires are not the limiting aspectdue to the wireless communication between the chips, for example.Further, an arbitrary number of receivers can be addressedsimultaneously by one signal of the transmitter. In this way, it may beavoided that the transmit channels and in this way the system power lossscales with the number of receivers. Additionally, receivers ondifferent carrier ports can be combined to a complete or overall system.Further, receivers can be arranged further away from each other as thesize of a carrier board. Additionally, systems with operatingfrequencies larger than 10 GHz and with a distance of more than 10 cm ofseparate components may be synchronized. Further, expensive highfrequency HF substrates may be avoided. An arbitrary three dimensional(3D) arrangement of components may be enabled. Additionally to thetransmission of a signal for system synchronization, also other data maybe transmitted. Some applications may be the wake-up of sensors from theidle mode or standby mode as soon as a sensor detects a target and givesa warning signal, focusing of sensors to a target, which is identifiedby a sensor of this system and/or an exchange of measurement data, forexample.

The integration of antennas into a common package may be easier forincreasing system frequencies, since the necessary antenna size mayscale with the wavelength (e.g. about 2 mm for 77 GHz).

Antennas for radiating or receiving signals may be formed by a waferlevel package process. Such antennas may radiate mainly orthogonal or inparallel to the chip or a PCB surface, for example.

Chips with orthogonal radiation characteristics may be used forcommunicating between chips arranged above each other and chips withparallel radiation characteristic may be used for chips which arearranged next to each other on a PCB, for example.

For example, a so-called Vivaldi antenna may comprise a radiationcharacteristic radiating mainly in parallel to the plane, in which theantenna is formed.

A proposed system may use an antenna, which radiates mainly in parallelto an orientation on the carrier board, together with an electriccircuitry integrated in a package used for a direct communicationbetween different devices. The different devices may be arranged on acommon carrier board or may be located on different carrier boards. Theantenna may be formed out of the redistribution layer of a wafer levelpackage. The wafer level package may be a fan out package (e.g. thelateral dimension of the package is larger than the integratedsemiconductor chip) and the antenna may be formed on the plastic part ofthe fan out package, for example.

The communication may avoid a restriction to two devices. For thecommunication between more than two devices, more than one antenna maybe integrated to a package so that the transmit and/or receive antennasbetween two chips can be geometrically aligned to each other, forexample. For example, one transmitter with two antennas which radiate(mainly) to the left and to the right (two opposite directions) may belocated in the middle of a system and to the left and to the right (inopposite directions) from the transmitter, a receiver may be arrangedrespectively.

The chip-to-chip communication may avoid limitation to devices arrangedon a common circuit board. Different circuit boards may also be arrangedout of a common plane (e.g. must not be distributed next to each otherin a plane). If two circuit boards are arranged above each, the chipscan be wirelessly communicating with each other, by integratingantennas, which mainly radiate orthogonally to the package surface, forexample.

According to an aspect, a radio system with at least two components canbe implemented which transmits signals from one to the other componentby means of antennas integrated into the packages of the components.

Optionally, a proposed system may be implemented with integratedantennas formed out of the redistribution layer of a wafer levelpackage.

Further, a proposed system may comprise a transmit frequency larger than10 GHz. Alternatively, frequencies of 24 GHz (e.g. car radar), 60 GHz(e.g. wireless local area network WLAN), 76 to 81 GHz (car radar) andhigher frequencies may be used, for example. For example, a proposedsystem may be an automotive radar system using a frequency of 76 GHz ormore, for example. The antenna sizes may scale with the wavelength ofthe transmit frequency so that the antennas may be large for lowfrequencies. At 77 GHz, the antenna dimension may be some millimeters,for example.

Another proposed system may comprise several components receiving acommon signal without a wired connection between the components.

Optionally, a proposed system may comprise components not mounted to acommon carrier board.

Further optionally, a proposed system may comprise components arrangedmore than 10 cm away from each other and signals may be transmitted atmore than 10 GHz.

Some systems may comprise components which are arranged to each other sothat (virtual) connecting lines cross each other (e.g. which may beimpossible with wired connections).

A proposed system may comprise a signal radiation mainly in parallel toa package surface and may comprise different system components arrangednext to each other.

Alternatively, a system may comprise a signal radiation mainlyorthogonal to a package surface and may comprise different systemcomponents arranged above each other, for example.

FIG. 6 shows a flowchart of a method 600 for determining a positioninformation of an object according to an embodiment. The method 600comprises transmitting 610 a radar signal to at least one object by atransmitter device and receiving 620 a reflected radar signal caused bya reflection of the radar signal at the least one object by a receiverdevice. Further, the method 600 comprises wirelessly transmitting 630 awireless communication signal containing information on a phase of alocal oscillator signal used for generating the radar signal by thetransmitter device and receiving 640 the wireless communication signalby the receiver device. Further, the method 600 comprises determining650 a position information of the at least one object based on thereceived reflected radar signal and the information on the phase of thelocal oscillator signal contained by the received wireless communicationsignal.

Due to the wireless transmission of the information on the phase of thelocal oscillator signal, the transmitter device and the receiver devicecan be arranged at arbitrary positions, for example.

The method 600 may be implemented by a proposed radar system describedabove, for example.

The transmitter device and the receiver device may be implemented bysemiconductor modules described above.

Further, the method 600 may comprise one or more optional additionalfeatures or acts corresponding to one or more aspects mentioned inconnection with the described concept or one or more embodimentsdescribed above.

Embodiments may further provide a computer program having a program codefor performing one of the above methods, when the computer program isexecuted on a computer or processor. A person of skill in the art wouldreadily recognize that acts of various above-described methods may beperformed by programmed computers. Herein, some embodiments are alsointended to cover program storage devices, e.g., digital data storagemedia, which are machine or computer readable and encodemachine-executable or computer-executable programs of instructions,wherein the instructions perform some or all of the acts of theabove-described methods. The program storage devices may be, e.g.,digital memories, magnetic storage media such as magnetic disks andmagnetic tapes, hard drives, or optically readable digital data storagemedia. The embodiments are also intended to cover computers programmedto perform the acts of the above-described methods or (field)programmable logic arrays ((F)PLAs) or (field) programmable gate arrays((F)PGAs), programmed to perform the acts of the above-describedmethods.

The description and drawings merely illustrate the principles of thedisclosure. It will thus be appreciated that those skilled in the artwill be able to devise various arrangements that, although notexplicitly described or shown herein, embody the principles of thedisclosure and are included within its spirit and scope. Furthermore,all examples recited herein are principally intended expressly to beonly for pedagogical purposes to aid the reader in understanding theprinciples of the disclosure and the concepts contributed by theinventor(s) to furthering the art, and are to be construed as beingwithout limitation to such specifically recited examples and conditions.Moreover, all statements herein reciting principles, aspects, andembodiments of the disclosure, as well as specific examples thereof, areintended to encompass equivalents thereof.

Functional blocks denoted as “means for . . . ” (performing a certainfunction) shall be understood as functional blocks comprising circuitrythat is configured to perform a certain function, respectively. Hence, a“means for s.th.” may as well be understood as a “means configured to orsuited for s.th.”. A means configured to perform a certain functiondoes, hence, not imply that such means necessarily is performing thefunction (at a given time instant).

Functions of various elements shown in the figures, including anyfunctional blocks labeled as “means”, “means for providing a sensorsignal”, “means for generating a transmit signal.”, etc., may beprovided through the use of dedicated hardware, such as “a signalprovider”, “a signal processing unit”, “a processor”, “a controller”,etc. as well as hardware capable of executing software in associationwith appropriate software. Moreover, any entity described herein as“means”, may correspond to or be implemented as “one or more modules”,“one or more devices”, “one or more units”, etc. When provided by aprocessor, the functions may be provided by a single dedicatedprocessor, by a single shared processor, or by a plurality of individualprocessors, some of which may be shared. Moreover, explicit use of theterm “processor” or “controller” should not be construed to referexclusively to hardware capable of executing software, and mayimplicitly include, without limitation, digital signal processor (DSP)hardware, network processor, application specific integrated circuit(ASIC), field programmable gate array (FPGA), read only memory (ROM) forstoring software, random access memory (RAM), and non-volatile storage.Other hardware, conventional and/or custom, may also be included.

It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that any blockdiagrams herein represent conceptual views of illustrative circuitryembodying the principles of the disclosure. Similarly, it will beappreciated that any flow charts, flow diagrams, state transitiondiagrams, pseudo code, and the like represent various processes whichmay be substantially represented in computer readable medium and soexecuted by a computer or processor, whether or not such computer orprocessor is explicitly shown.

Furthermore, the following claims are hereby incorporated into theDetailed Description, where each claim may stand on its own as aseparate embodiment. While each claim may stand on its own as a separateembodiment, it is to be noted that—although a dependent claim may referin the claims to a specific combination with one or more otherclaims—other embodiments may also include a combination of the dependentclaim with the subject matter of each other dependent or independentclaim. Such combinations are proposed herein unless it is stated that aspecific combination is not intended. Furthermore, it is intended toinclude also features of a claim to any other independent claim even ifthis claim is not directly made dependent to the independent claim.

It is further to be noted that methods disclosed in the specification orin the claims may be implemented by a device having means for performingeach of the respective acts of these methods.

Further, it is to be understood that the disclosure of multiple acts orfunctions disclosed in the specification or claims may not be construedas to be within the specific order. Therefore, the disclosure ofmultiple acts or functions will not limit these to a particular orderunless such acts or functions are not interchangeable for technicalreasons. Furthermore, in some embodiments a single act may include ormay be broken into multiple sub acts. Such sub acts may be included andpart of the disclosure of this single act unless explicitly excluded.

1-20. (canceled)
 21. A radar system, comprising: a semiconductor diecomprising a transmitter configured to transmit wirelessly a wirelesssignal comprising a local oscillator signal to a further semiconductordie; and wherein the further semiconductor die comprises a mixer and isconfigured to receive a radar signal reflected by an object and toprovide the local oscillator signal of the wireless signal and the radarsignal reflected by the object to the mixer to obtain information on afrequency difference based on a mixing of the local oscillator signal ofthe wireless signal and the radar signal reflected by the object. 22.The radar system of claim 21, further comprising: a processing moduleconfigured to determine position information based on the frequencydifference.
 23. The radar system of claim 21, wherein the wirelesssignal has information on a phase of the local oscillator signal. 24.The radar system of claim 21, further comprising: an antenna coupled tothe semiconductor die, wherein the wireless signal is transmitted viathe antenna.
 25. The radar system of claim 24, wherein the antennacomprises a first antenna configured to transmit the wireless signal anda second antenna configured to transmit the radar signal.
 26. The radarsystem of claim 24, wherein the antenna is configured to transmit thewireless signal and the radar signal.
 27. The radar system of claim 24,wherein the semiconductor die and the antenna are arranged within acommon package.
 28. The radar system of claim 27, wherein the antenna iselectrically connected only to at least one of the semiconductor die orthe further semiconductor die, and without a direct electricalconnection to an element outside the common package.
 29. The radarsystem of claim 27, wherein the common package is a wafer level package.30. The radar system of claim 21, wherein the transmitter is amulti-channel transmitter configured to transmit the wireless signal andthe radar signal.
 31. A method, comprising: transmitting wirelessly, viaa semiconductor die comprising a transmitter, a wireless signalcomprising a local oscillator signal to a further semiconductor die; andwherein the further semiconductor die receives a radar signal reflectedby an object and provides the local oscillator signal of the wirelesssignal and the radar signal reflected by the object to a mixer to obtaininformation on a frequency difference based on a mixing of the localoscillator signal of the wireless signal and the radar signal reflectedby the object.
 32. The method of claim 31, further comprising:determining position information based on the frequency difference. 33.The method of claim 31, wherein the wireless signal has information on aphase of the local oscillator signal.
 34. The method of claim 31,wherein an antenna is coupled to the semiconductor die, and wherein thewireless signal is transmitted via the antenna.
 35. The method of claim34, wherein the antenna comprises a first antenna configured to transmitthe wireless signal and a second antenna configured to transmit theradar signal.
 36. The method of claim 34, wherein the antenna isconfigured to transmit the wireless signal and the radar signal.
 37. Themethod of claim 34, wherein the semiconductor die and the antenna arearranged within a common package.
 38. The method of claim 37, whereinthe antenna is electrically connected only to at least one of thesemiconductor die or the further semiconductor die, and without a directelectrical connection to an element outside the common package.
 39. Themethod of claim 37, wherein the common package is a wafer level package.40. The method of claim 31, wherein the transmitter is a multi-channeltransmitter configured to transmit the wireless signal and the radarsignal.